OTF Transformation Challenge: WEEK TWO

Week two of the OrangeTheory Transformation Challenge is in the books! Another week of pushing myself to be better.

 I didn't drop any additional pounds, but I can tell I am getting stronger. My legs are losing cellulite, which is a huge plus for me and my jeans are fitting better. I love seeing my hard work pay off and it is only the second week!

This Friday's workout consisted of Olympic themed workouts. Everyone was encouraged to dress in red,white, and blue, so of course I went all out! I even convinced Jared to let me borrow one of his treasured throw back 1996 Atlanta Olympics sweatshirts! 

It was also a partial team workout and my team got the gold in our 7:30 am class by rowing a combined 5,048 meters! I am super competitive and this challenge had me rowing my best. I can't say enough good things about the coaches and staff at OrangeTheory John's Creek! They help push me to be my best. 

Updated White Chicken Enchiladas

While I am working out to create a healthier lifestyle, I have been trying to make healthier meals this week too. 
The Pioneer Woman is my cooking spirit animal. Everything I have made from her cookbooks has been a hit! Literally everything!

In an effort to get healthier, I did switch up a few ingredients but still got the same great taste!

I made this recipe for just my husband and I so everything was made cut in half!

Pioneer Woman's White Chicken Enchiladas

2-1/2 cups Cooked, Shredded Chicken

2 cups Reserved Broth From Chicken

3 Tablespoons Canola Oil

12 whole Corn Tortillas

1 whole Large Onion, Diced

3 whole 4 Oz Cans Whole Green Chilies, Diced

1 whole Jalapeno, Seeded And Finely Diced

1 teaspoon Paprika

1/2 cup Heavy Cream   (I used fat free half and half)

2 Tablespoons Butter (Subbed with greek yogurt)

2 Tablespoons Flour

1 cup Sour Cream (Subbed with greek yogurt)

2-1/2 cups Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated

Salt And Pepper, to taste

Cilantro, Chopped

RuMM Color Studio

Spring time is coming to the south no matter what General Beauregard Lee says. To welcome spring, I got a refresh on my look. A little lighter thanks to the fabulous team at RuMM Color Studio, especially Layla! Great staff with options to fit every person's budget. 

10/10 this is the best salon in North Atlanta! 

OTF Transformation Challenge: WEEK ONE

Reflections Week One

The first week of the OrangeTheory  transformation challenge is in the books! I haven't worked out five days in row in a while. I thought it would be hard go everyday, but the coaches and staff at OrangeTheory John's Creek are great motivators. To kickoff the week they had DJ Rockafella play while worked out. I should have asked him for his mix because I need it to pump up my runs. 

After fighting through the initial soreness early in the week, I began to see my stamina getting better! I am proud to say I am three pounds done already and getting stronger. Part of this is not only the workouts, but making better choices in the food and drink category. I am traditionally an over eater, but working out makes me think about my choices more. Instead of adding a cookie to my lunch I choose the fruit instead. Last year, I wanted to drink more water than soda and so far that is still holding true. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate is my new motto! 

I can't wait to look back on this challenge to see how many lifestyles changes I kept!

Dermalogica Antioxidant Hydramist

Today I walked into Ulta to test our Dermalogica's  Antioxidant Hydramist. As I get older and have to travel more for work, the more I care about my skincare. I had heard good things about this product and wasn't disappointed when I gave it a shot.

As soon as I sprayed once on either side of my face I could feel my pores tighten and my skin felt refreshed! The best part? You can apply this over your makeup! Not a smudge or smear in sight!

*All thoughts are my own.  I tried this product as part of a contest for Influenster .

PONCE CITY MARKET-FINALLY

Everyone in Atlanta is always about trying the newest thing. This city is growing like crazy, it is hard to keep up with everything. I recently got to visit what is becoming a staple in Atlanta's many tourist stops:

Ponce City Market

A city market is a board term for this place located on the south side of Atlanta. It truly is an experience! From a rooftop amusement park, numerous shops and delicious food options there is something for everyone to enjoy.

I wasn't able to make it to the rooftop amusement park because of the cold weather, but below are some of my favorites spots from my trip last week! 

Snow Day

The weather in Georgia is always wacky and extreme. Today we got a snow day! I know a lot of northerners make fun of us for shutting down for an inch of snow, but honestly I am glad we do. People do not know how to drive and frankly I don't want to be on the road with the people who think they do know how. 

So here is to working from home, snuggle with my pug and taking a few basic snow pics!

I got such a deal on my Hunter Rain Boots at Nordstrom Rack and my Columbia Coat came in just in time to keep me warm during this cold front.

JACKET | SIMILAR HUNTER BOOTS (I found these at Nordstrom Rack for $80)

Body Positive

My weight has always fluctuated from being chubby in elementary school and extremely fit while playing competitive school soccer. I've never been extremely happy with how my body looks, BUT I also can't stay away from carbs and cheese. 

So this year, I am focusing on being BODY POSITIVE.  

I've signed up for fabfitfun as a 'Treat yo self' for leading a positive and healthy lifestyle. With your subscription, you get a seasonal box (4) with full size products! I just received my first box and am in love with the products I have tried so far. 

And then of course making a lifestyle change is on the road map for a body positive world.

I like working out. Not everyday, but most days the endorphins make me happy.

 I LOVE OrangeTheory Fitness. 

I started OTF in 2014 after a coworker encouraged me to try it with her. I WAS HOOKED. I would go before traveling for work, at 8pm, basically anytime I could get that workout in, I made it work. 

But typical with the ups and downs I experience with my weight, life was changing and my workouts became less of a priority. We bought a house in a new area, so I decided to leave the studio were I worked out. I tried running outside, but just wasn't seeing the results that I wanted. Then I joined OTF -John's Creek. I started loving my workouts again and was seeing results.

This was a few months after moving into our new house and leading up to our wedding. 

After we got married, I wasn't as motivated to go to class anymore, my job had changed and I was spending longer hours at the office. I decided to reduce my workouts to a local gym. I am going to be honest, all those years of being coached has made me prefer group classes. It is such a mind game for me sometimes trying to motivate myself to go to a gym and 'create' a workout where no one is 'holding' me responsible. 

I kept recommending OrangeTheory to everyone even though I was no longer working out there.

AND THEN IT DAWNED ON ME.

If I am one of their biggest advocates, why am I not still a member? They have so many plan options to work with your budget and time. Their staff is so understanding and flexible, which really speaks to how much they care about their members. I've noticed that when I had OrangeTheory in the mix of training for my half marathon, I was able to tackle hills that others had to walk up and my endurance was improving. 

Coach Phillip at OTF-John's Creek recently quoted a motivational speaker before our class. (which did kick my butt by the way)

"Yesterday was the last day for excuses"-Dr. Eric Thomas

Long story short,OrangeTheory is running their annual Transformation Challenge and his quote inspired me to signed up. I want to treat my body right. I want that happy feeling that comes from feeling good about myself. I want to challenge myself to be better.

When I workout I make better choices about eating, lifestyle and time management. I am excited to start the year of body positivity.

 I will be posting about my journey on here from time to time. 

Sisters First: A Review

When the pick for January's book club was 'Sisters First', I will admit I was not sure I wanted to. It is not that I had a dislike of the Bush sisters, but rather that I felt I knew their story.

I WAS WRONG. 

This book was so good. Barbara and Jenna actually touched a lot on the theme of preconceived notions.  A deep look into their personal lives and thoughts made me forget that I was reading about a pair of famous sisters. I thought that I would connect most with Jenna, but I also found myself relating to many of Barbara's stories. 

Getting to know their true past: triumphs and lessons learned felt so personal. As the pages progressed, I couldn't get enough and finished this one rather quickly. A perfect read for anytime!

P.S. I am or may not have bought a similar top to the ones they wear in the back cover photo.

Read it for yourself: Sisters First

What I love About Sundays

HAPPY SUNDAY:

Feeling refreshed and renewed with the new year, one of the goals I set for myself was to go to church more. I really enjoy spending this time with not only my husband, but with others who are reflecting on how to be better.

For me, church reminds me to give more than you receive. This year I want to give more. Volunteer, be a better wife, friend and pug mom. As a young professional, it is easy to put your job above other things in your life, but this will be a year of balance for me. I am determined. 

Shoes | Jacket | Mug 

Goodbye 2017, Hello 2018

A lot of the time I see my friends and family ready for the year to end. To me, every year comes with it's own ups and downs. Like I mentioned in my previous post, I had set some goals for myself in 2017, accomplishing a majority of them. 

I really feel like accomplishing these goals helped lead to a happy and productive year. They enabled me to spend more time with the ones I love and enrich some of my favorite hobbies. 

One of the very last things I did this year was hike Providence Canyon State Park with my sister and her best friend. We woke up at 3AM. Yes, you read that right...3AM. BUT a sunset hike was definitely worth it. Simple and easy, it only took us a little over an hour to hike the rim of the canyon....I will say we were moving a little slow due to all the photos we took along the way. 

After we finished the hike, we made our way down to explore the canyon floor. The cool thing about this canyon is the history behind it. Due to poor farming practices back in the 1800s the canyons began to take their shape so these formations are made of Georgia clay and other terrain. 

 Getting outside, exploring new and remembering the world is bigger than just the bubble I typically live in was the perfect ending to the positive year of 2017. 

So bring it on 2018, I am excited to keep moving forward and pushing myself to be my best.

Similar Leggings | Similar Sweatshirt | Sneakers

Christmas, Christmas...Can I get A Wish List?

The older I get the more practical my Christmas wish list can be. Below are some of my asks for this year. I tried to mix it up, because let's face it...not everyone wants to buy you a shredder!

Steamer | Leggings | Earrings | Poncho | Shredder
S'mores Sticks | Wooden Salad Bowl Set | PJs

Keeping Track

Like I mentioned in my last post, one of my goals that I proudly met this year was to run a 5k once a month. 

It all adds up to a lot of shirts! 

 While I have looked back at this milestone, a friend of mine posted the other day that she had reached her goal of running 1,000 miles in 2017. This definitely sent my mind spinning. How many miles have I done this year? 

Certainly all this training and the actual races have to add up to something. I've been using ASICS Runkeeper since September and have tracked 86 miles in these past few months. Plus the seven 5ks and one 10k I did in the first eight months all totaling to 28 miles. I can guess about all the miles I ran in between, but I would say 114 miles tracked is a lot more than I did last year! 

 Maybe I can start small and set a goal for running 200 miles next year? 
I should put a disclaimer that I don't get a 'runner's high' from all the running I've been doing. Just a girl trying to meet some goals and stay in shape!